FBI Director James Comey has been fired, according to the White House.

“Today, President Donald J. Trump informed FBI Director James Comey that he has been terminated and removed from office,” the White House statement reads.

“President Trump acted based on the clear recommendations of both Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions,” the statement continues.

Comey’s termination was read to him over the phone while he was traveling for the bureau in Los Angeles, two FBI sources told ABC News. He was there for a field office inspection and a recruitment event this evening that’s part of the FBI’s efforts to boost diversity. A separate FBI official told ABC News that Comey first learned of his firing by seeing news reports on TV. The official said Comey was “surprised, really surprised” and was “caught flat-footed.”

FBI agents and staff are stunned by the news, FBI sources told ABC News. Inside the FBI, there are discussions about whether Comey will be able to address the bureau he led one final time, but it is not clear that will happen.

Comey was spotted boarding a private jet at Los Angeles International Airport this evening.

In addition to a statement, the White House released the letter that Trump wrote directly to Comey dismissing him at the recommendation of the attorney general and the deputy attorney general, “effective immediately.”

“While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau,” Trump writes.

“It is essential that we find new leadership for the FBI that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission,” Trump’s letter states. To read more go to the link below: